#Us postal service forward mail form zip

Return Service Requested mail will not be returned, rather it will be put in the parcel going to you at your new address. Although costly, (with an enrollment fee and per package forwarded fee), it will get you all your mail on the schedule you decide. This is the service mentioned in an earlier response where USPS accumulates your mail for a set period, even 14 days, then packages all your mail into a priority parcel and sends it directly to you at your new address. But things are starting to get really complicated, aren't they?įinally, Premium Forwarding Service may be the best solution. Then when you know what your new, new address will be, do another change of address. You could solve the pipeline issue by going online on day 20 or so and holding your mail at your original address. Also, when you leave your new address after the month, there will still be mail in the pipeline. But the mail that is sent 'Return Service Requested' will still be returned. Then, when you arrive on day 14 or so, there should be mail waiting for you at your new address. Simultaneously, go online and begin holding the mail at your new address. Start forwarding from your old address on day 1. Now if you know what your new address will be before you leave your old address, (and yes, General Delivery can be a new address) things can work better. I am talking about things like bank statements, some checks, and some bills. And it is often the mail you want the most that is mailed this way. It helps the sender keep track of where you really are. So if you have done a change of address, the Return Service mail goes back to the sender. So the sender can mail things conditionally by endorsing the mail 'Return Service Requested' where it is only delivered if the address is correct. You see, as far as USPS is concerned, the sender owns the mail until it is delivered.

Sometimes, the mail you want the most is not forwarded. Not a very good situation- that's why forwards less than 30 days are not accepted.Īnother concern with forwarding is that not all mail gets forwarded. Then when you leave on day 30, there will be 10 to 14 days worth of mail in the pipeline, so to speak, that has been forwarded from your old address, but not recieved yet at the new address. So you get your mail for a few days at your new address. Then 10 to 14 days later your mail will start showing up at your new address- just a few days before you leave again. So if you are moving on, lets call it day 1, then won't know what your new address will be until after you get there on day 14, obviously you cannot file the change of address until day 15 or so. It will take 10 to 14 days from the date the change of address is effective for your mail to start showing up at your new address. The biggest problem will be the forwarding lag. But you can get around that by doing the change for 31 days, then later cancelling the change early. In general, USPS will not accept a forwarding order for less than a 30 day time period. Is it because you won't know your new address until after you get there? If so, in effect, you only want your mail forwarded for 16 or 17 days. When you say you are moving for a month and want to wait 14 days before you start the forwarding, wow, that complicates things even more. A short term forwarding order causes lots of issues. I am a small town postmaster, maybe I can help.įorwarding is very complicated and it's hard for the casual user to fully understand. specific, but I understand Canada Post has a similar thing, and probably most countries around the world.)

People do this all the time when hiking long distances like on the Appalachian Trail. They will put the mail in the will-call pile, and will generally hold it until DATE + 30 days then it gets returned if possible.

#Us postal service forward mail form zip

The best thing to do is simply call companies you do business with when you get to the new location and tell them directly I'm not sure there's a benefit in using the USPS method anymore (at one point in history it was probably really important, but you probably have less than 10 companies to tell your new address, since now most stuff can be done electronically with credit card bill payment and so on).Īlso, if you're traveling, you can always receive mail anywhere you're going to be, if you have mail sent to the local post office addressed as 'Your name, General Delivery, City, State, ZIP - hold for pick up until DATE'. So if you're wondering how the junk mail starts arriving at your new address before you do, that's how. Just be aware if you use the USPS 'Change of address' kit, that USPS sells that information to marketing firms.